250GB Cap questions

I was a little disappointed to log into my new comcast account today and note the 'usage' meter. We were not informed that there was a cap when we were sold the service.

I was also shocked to see that, in the first 48 hrs of having our service, we had already used 12 gigs without really even trying. Our family uses netflix as well as movies on demand. I was particularly confused to find out that even content purchased/downloaded through comcast's own video channels contributed to the useage and the cap.

I understand that there are those whom abuse their internet connection; but it looks as if my household will have to be concerned about this cap. If we are already hitting 6gb a day of use before we are even fully moved into our new home and don't even have all of our computers and wifi devices such as xboxes hooked up, it appears we'll be constantly looking over our shoulders at this meter.

Has gone over this cap and has issues with their account being in jeopardy? If we have to be concerned that our service will get cancelled for simply using the internet as we always have with other providers, we may have to consider cancelling our serivice and going eslewhere for our internet and TV.

I was told in online chat that the average user uses only 2-4 GB per month; I don't see how this is possible in this day and age, especially amoungst users like myself whom subscribe to one of the higher tier packages.

I was also told that users who exceed the limit are given a warning and told to 'curb' their usage; however I'm not really willing to have to suddenly start limiting our internet usage after several years

Does anyone know what happens if your account is terminated for exceeding the cap? Are you charged cancellation fees or anything?

If we are already apparently using 6 gb per day, hitting the 8.3 gb/day mark that would put us over the cap makes the 250 cap seem rather unreasonable. I was looking forward to all the HD on demand and pay per view content we were going to have access too, but it all seems rather pointless when you're suddenly having to 'budget' your bandwidth.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Also, I was told that maybe I should consider the 'business' or 'commercial' packages. This seems like an unneccessary consideration for a family of 3 to have to even make just to use their interent at home. We are a tech-savvy family who enjoys HD programming, streaming movies, and everything all of this great tech has to offer, but the fee we pay monthly should cover this use, shouldn't it?

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Need Email Help? Please post the following information in your post.Do you use XfinityConnect? The Full or Lite version?Do you use an email client? Which one? (Eg; Windows Live mail, Outlook, a smartphone etc.)Which browser/version do you use? And- have you cleared your browser cache?Which operating system? XP, Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS XDetails of the problem you are having.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

The cap sure feels like punishment to the people your services are specifically designed for.

The argument that the average customer uses only 2-4 gb a month is exceedingly flawed, especially for the users that subscribe to the higher end packages rather than the minimal packages.

Such a cap is very limiting for both comcast and other companies who make money off online transactions; I for one was looking forward to ordering movies via the tools available through comcast's on-demand channels, but why would I pay your company even more money if all I am doing is subtracting from my limited monthly alotment of 250gb?

Unfortunately it sounds increasingly like we may have to take our business elsewhere before our 30 day trial is up.

I keep hearing from comcast employees that '250 gb is more than enough for most users", however if that were the case then you'd think the cap could be raised to say 500gb. i mean if the majority of users are only using such an insigificant amount.

Just doing the math based on my familie's activities, we would be around 250GB a month, and we do not do any peer file sharing. Just some online gaming, streaming of netflix, and streaming of downloaded HD movie rentals, iOS apps, and legitimately purchased music. I would say our use is on par with most of our friends and family members. I'm not sure how 250gb is "reasonable" in this day and age when I'm walking around with a wallet-sized 1TB hard drive in my pocket most of the day.

So if most of your customers are only using 2-4 GB per day, and customers/families like myself that will be around the max every month, sometimes undoubtedly going over, do you want to LOSE customers via either having them choose another service, or being terminated?

It really seems to me like you're trying to filter out the filesharing/torrent crowd but really you're mostly hurting legitimate customers who undersatnd that filesharing is a huge problem. But punishing the tech-savvy and avid internet users to whom every other aspect of your service is best suited is unreasonable.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Just to make it clear: The majority of the responses here in the Forums are answered by other customers like yourself that volunteer time here helping fellow users. The Comcast employees, when they post, will show with their username in red. (Administrators & Moderators)

Need Email Help? Please post the following information in your post.Do you use XfinityConnect? The Full or Lite version?Do you use an email client? Which one? (Eg; Windows Live mail, Outlook, a smartphone etc.)Which browser/version do you use? And- have you cleared your browser cache?Which operating system? XP, Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS XDetails of the problem you are having.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

AT the time the cap was set, 250GB was difficult to hit through legal channels. With the new speeds, the extreme HD content available everywhere, it is very easy to hit the cap. With that said, their network is setup to give fair access to all users. The excessive users can affect other users service, however, I agree this is on Comcast to manage and should not be the customer's responsibility. I am not talking capping, or degrading their speeds to handle this issue.

I see many, many people complaining about this cap, ALL ISPs have them, whether you read your agreement or not, they are there. Comcast has the absolute highest cap I've heard about. When you exit the US, the cap becomes very small, 6gb in parts of South Africa. Enjoy what you have, if you dont want the cap, upgrade to the business account that has no cap.

Or. . . start your own ISP because the rest of us are sick of hearing you complain.

PS I average 230GB a month in 100% legal usage, I watch netflix, Hulu, comcast-on-demand, and download games (150gb this month alone). But as a customer, it is my responsiblity to ensure I follow my agreement.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Hi folks...

I've only one question concerning the cap. We've never actually been anywhere close to it that I'm aware of so it probably won't matter on my behalf, but, are folks who have only digital/hd cable affected by the cap also? Someone could conceivably be over the cap thru hd on demand and not even own a pc. If those customers are not held to the same standard as internet users, seems the double/triple play users would be being penalized by adding the on demand into their monthly figures. Any thoughts on this?

Re: 250GB Cap questions

After my new modem installed within 2 days I was at 25GB used. I have 5 computers on the network and we all use Netflix and are gamers. I run multiple websites which require me to do a lot of downloading and uploading. My job also requires this. This limit is horrible.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

The cap is not a hard cap, nothing magical happens when you hit 250GB. I have three teenagers and my wife and I are both heavy users. We don’t watch broadcast TV, all of our TV is streaming (Netflix, Hulu etc), my boys are heavy gamers and my daughter lives on-line. We are constantly pushing the data cap and have mildly exceeded it a few times. No worries tho, in order for Comcast to take action, you have to have exceeded the cap AND be one of the heaviest users on the system. With your current usage level, you have nothing to worry about….just stay away from torrents.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Elginr, Sprint mnvo virgin mobile $25 dollar plan, does not have a cap and you get 200 or 250 talk minutes.

To the poster that said they need it for a Job, the Job should be responsible for your business internet and they should pay the service provider directly especially if the Job causes you to go over the limit.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

[ Edited ]

Elginr that is a different plan with a different type of connection. The one I am talking about is a cell phone that has 200 or 250 minutes per month with unlimited data includes internet no cap. You have to buy that specific cell phone(s) & be in Virgin mobile service area.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

If there was competition in the Internet service provider area. There would be no caps.

The companies would use the latest technology to increase speed and bandwidth so to compete.

America would finely catch up with Europe's technology. When it comes to internet access we are a third world country. We pay more than anyone else and our service is slower and more congested.

With only two major internet providers there is no competition and they control the internet.

Why do they have a cap?

Why invest in newer technology when all you have to do is put a cap on usage.

People who exceed the cap do this by streaming TV and movies and use internet phone service. This is direct competition with the two major internet providers who also provide TV and phone service . Placing a cap on internet use helps eliminate the online competition.

What the major providers don't know is with open competition the one with the wires will benefit the most. They may lose total control over the usage but they will get rich leasing their lines to other competitors.

Open markets, that is how the free enterprise works best. Email your congressman and senator and ask for an open internet service provider market. If they hear from us enough they will have to listen.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Much of this topic seems to revolve around the notion that those who are using/in danger of going over 250GB per month of data usage are "abusing" their service, rather than merely "using" their service. Since Xfinity/Comcast markets their service for the usability of things like watching HD video though, it really needs to be reconsidered whether the 250 GB cap really falls into the category of "abusing."

Frist, it needs to be realized that probably those who are paying for higher speeds are more inclined to be paying for those higher speeds for the very purpose of using things which require higher bandwidth, such as HD video. Shouldn't paying for higher bandwidth also imply paying for higher data amounts?

Now let's set the record straight on how easy it is to hit 250GB by merely using normal, legal, use of the type of service that Comcast not only provides, but even markets. I have subscribed to the MLB extra innings package for a few years now, and the inital reason I subscirbed was that it was provided FREE by Comcast in addition to my internet package. That certainly shows evidence that Comcast is encouraging their customers to use that particuar service.

My favorite team (Go Cards!) is out of market. They play roughly 25 games per month. Assuming the average data rate (2.3 GB per hour) and the aveage game lenght (3 hours), I use just short of 175 GB per month just using the extra innings package to watch my favorite team play baseball. All by itself that accounts for 70 percent of my data cap.

In fact if you merely watch 3.6 hours of HD per day per household then you will use your full cap limit. That's less than an hour per day for a family of four. As PS3, Smart TV (and other similar products), Tivo, and so on all add things like Netfilx to their services, online downloads of HD content is on the rise, and the fact is that 250GB cap limit is not realistic.

First, I know that Comcast has insisted that more than 99 percent of their customers use less than that. However how many of those customers use less than that becasue they are monitoring their usage? I don't go over because I'm very careful to not go over it. That doesn't mean I couldn't go over it using normal, legal means if I weren't carefully mointoring my usage. I find it silly of Comcast to impose a limit with strict penalties for not going over (elimination of service the second time you fault!) and then declaring that 99 percent of their patrons don't exceed the amount. Many patrons don't exceed the amount because they are restricting their LEGAL usage.

Second, how far back does that data go? Is it 99 percent since 2000? Since 2005? Sicne 2010? I ask because they can maniuplate the data to make the "accurate" statement that is misleading. As HD video and other interactive services (such as Skype, Oovoo) are on the rise more data usage is inherent. Also, are they lumping all packages together?

Third, when they say "typical" residental usage, to what are they referring? Are they referring to the average bandwidth per customer per month? Or are they referring to the average percentage of customers who exceeded the datacap once in a six month time frame this year?

For instance let's take three customers. One uses 20 GB per month, and is an elderly couple who basically checks their email and buys a few things online (and 20 GB is actually high for them). Another is a using a meager 50 GB per month just doing normal surfing. A third is a family of four who routinely tops 200 GB a month by merlely averaging a couple of movies on Netflix per family member per week. They montiro their usage and don't go over.

Those three households "average" 90 GB per month and can all be described as "typical" users as they are using their service in a normal and leagl fasion. However, 1/3 of those users are affacted by the data cap.

Comcast's answers to the datacap question are, to me, specious. They beg more questions than they answer. While I understand that the purpose of thier data cap (though they won't admit it) is to hinder torrent sharing, it seems they are penalizing normal, typical, leagl usage in the process. Why not mreley limit upload data? That would resolve that issue.

The 250 GB limit is archaic in the age of high def video downloads. Comcast at the very least needs to either A) separate download/upload data transfer increase the cap or C) tier the data cap along with the varying speeds so that customers who are already paying for superior speeds can use that speed on a daily basis without being penalized for LEGALLY using what they are payihng for.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Are you familiar with the "Tragedy of the Commons"? If you have a shared resource, and don't do anything to keep people from using all they want, they'll use it all up.

Bandwidth-hungry applications like Netflix have grown faster than Comcast's ability to upgrade their network to keep pace. Do you really think it's appropriate to let everyone just use as much as they want, causing the network to overload? Until the network catches up, some kind of pushback is needed.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

"Abuse" or "Excessive" same difference. The implication is that I'm "overusing" my service either way.

And "tragedy of the commons" does not seem to apply for a couple of reasons.

1) It would seem to apply to a thing that is free. This isn't a "shared" source. It's a paid for utility.

2) It would seem to apply to a thing that is finite. More for me does not mean less for you.

So since I am paying more for a service that doesn't need to be capped I don't buy into your argument. My downloading more data doesn't leave less data for you to downlaod. It's a fallacious argument. Have you ever really had a problem with downloaing data because it was "overloaded"? I haven't.

And you're missing my point. Xfinity markets it's ability to utilize those "bandwidth hungry" services, and then penalizes you for using them. As I said in my initial post, that 250 GB data is easily accessible using those services without "excessive" use.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

What kills me the most are the sheep who defend data caps. Don't you see your falling for the oldest social engineering trick in the book.

When implementing negative change you must rally the people for the change. First create a group that is making the change necessary, so a majority of the people grow to hate that group. And if you speak out against the change you are put in the hated group. Comcast did that by saying there are excessive users that are the bad guys. Just read some of the Cap post and see if Comcast was successful in that.

Then create fear so everyone must accept the change. Internet death, is what happens if you don't follow the mandated rules.

People wake up and take a real look at why the caps exists. If you capped driving to only 250 miles a day, for example. You don't stop the traffic, there will still be traffic jams in the morning and afternoon. What you do stop is people going out of town to shop, eat, and spend their money. They will just stay close to home to spend the money. There for you controlled outside competition not traffic.

So do you want to subscribe to cable or have the option of some other streaming service. Back up you stuff up to the cloud or risk it's destruction on a hard drive at home. Right now you don't have a choice.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

And "tragedy of the commons" does not seem to apply for a couple of reasons.

1) It would seem to apply to a thing that is free. This isn't a "shared" source. It's a paid for utility.

2) It would seem to apply to a thing that is finite. More for me does not mean less for you.

Yes, it's a shared resource. Within your neighborhood, you're sharing the cables going to the head-end with your neighbors. And on the Comcast backbone, we're all sharing a finite number of cables and routers. The infrastructure has a limited amount of bandwidth.

Tragedy of the commons applies whenever there's a shared resource, and you pay the same amount no matter how much you use. As long as there's no penalty for additional use, users will tend to use as much as they possibly can. And if everyone tried to watch several hours of HD every day, Comcast wouldn't be able to keep up, and you'd be complaining about all the "buffering" messages.

The difference between "excessive" and "abusive" is that excessive simply means "much more than normal or necessary", it doesn't necessarily imply that you're intentionally trying to do harm. The point is that you're paying the same as other customers, but you're using more than your fair share of a finite capacity.

The real problem is that the Internet industry started out using flat rate pricing, back when there wasn't so much for people to do on the Internet that it would tax the providers' networks. Now that the demand for bandwidth has grown faster than the network capacity, it would make more sense to charge based on usage, but consumers would rebel if providers tried to change the pricing model. ISPs are rushing to increase their capacity, but by the time they do this we'll probably have the next big thing (3D?), which will require even more capacity. ISPs are likely to always be playing catch-up to the demand if there's no circuit breaker.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

I dont like data caps, between netflix hulu and my other streaming habbits me and my wife use all of my data allowance every month. the only reason the isps have caps is they are trying to get you to get thier tv service, when in reality tv service is not needed in the least bit, most laptops theese days have HDMI out on them, and all the shows i watch i can stream from either Hulu, or thier own websites to my tv. I do understand that thier networks cant handle everyone streaming at one time, but if there was more competition you would see the companies bulking up there backend faster then they are now. Where i live i have two options for internet 3 if i wanna count dial up. Comcast, or verizon dsl 1.5mbs. now while i have never had a issue with comcast i would love it if i actually had a choice in my provider. What we as consumers need is the isp/tv services to be DEREGULATED. I mean for christ sakes i can pick who i get my electric from, why cant i pick who i want my internet or cable tv from. Competition brings prices down, and will force theese companies to atually upgrade thier networks. I have seen upgrades in my state where fios went in. Magically comcast in those areas had faster speeds overnight to compete. sorry if this was a rant but the problem with caps is they can do it cause you dont really have many if any choice who to go through for internet.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Your wrong in NJ there is only one cable provider per town, when I tried to get optimum they told me due to regulations they can't provide service in towns where other cable providers are. And when I had charter way back when comcast said the same thing when I tried to get them.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

if i could i would get them, but nobody i know can even get fios, from my experience its the upscale neighborhoods in NJ that have fios, but down in the tuckerton area of NJ no fios, the lacey area no fios, and the last i checked brick and toms river nj no fios either. i personally would love to get fios but i cant.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

I am absolutely not against the cap. Without a cap or limitation, the Internet service will certainly be misused and abused. For example, my son would have multiple Chrome tabs open streaming from Youtube the same time, but he would not be watching any of them but playing he's online game. Certain restrictions are necessary and I took the opportunity to educate him not to do that any more. If you open a Youtube video, watch it or close it.

However, by today's standard, 250GB isn't that much any more. I would use 3GB a night easily. For a 3-people household as mine, that would be 3*3*30 = 270GB. This cap was set back in Oct. 2008 and will be 3 years old very soon. What Comcast should be doing is constantly monitoring the trend (they have the stats), adjust the cap and upgrade their network accordingly.

At a bare minimum, they should update the messages on the Usage page(http://customer.comcast.com/Pages/FAQViewer.aspx?guid=ce29dfac-73d9-4cb4-b433-70abe3b295e6) saying things like "Currently, the median data usage by XFINITY Internet customers is approximately 4 - 6 GB each month" and "The vast majority - more than 99% - of our customers will not be impacted by a 250 GB monthly data usage threshold." The info on this page is certainly a far cry from today's reality in July 2011.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

I understand your concern on misuse. Internet data is not like electricity or water. It is not limited. You don't waste data. The size of the pipe does limit the amount that can flow at a time but the quantity of data is unlimited. Also the power to the data lines are not turned off if it is not used so there is no saving in electricity. Comcast is conditioning us to think of internet data like food, water or fuel. They do this for social engineering reasons. Ration the usage and you control the customer. He won't stream from Netflix or Hulu, he'll just watch, and pay for cable. If it were to control the flow of data they would throttle everyone down equally during peak hours. If you where to put a cost on data it would be about 1 cent per Gigabyte. If you use all your 250G your paying 18 cent a Gig. That is a %1800 markup. No wonder they can buy anything they want, including politicians.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

It's true that bandwidth only limits the amount that can flow at the same time. But most customers use the Internet around the same times of the day. Anyone who hits the cap is most likely using a significant amount of their bandwidth during peak times.

If Comcast wanted to optimize this, they could do something like have a bandwidth limit that only counted traffic during prime time. I remember when phone billing was like that; they would have different rates for different segments of the day and weekends. But in practice, customers don't like complications like this.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

[ Edited ]

"I am absolutely not against the cap. Without a cap or limitation, the Internet service will certainly be misused and abused. For example, my son would have multiple Chrome tabs open streaming from Youtube the same time, but he would not be watching any of them but playing he's online game. Certain restrictions are necessary and I took the opportunity to educate him not to do that any more. If you open a Youtube video, watch it or close it."

That really does not waste as much bandwidth as you think. Especially since youtube is only growing with how the files are compressed and stored. You are looking 10 minutes to 15MB..﻿ Now of course that is a give or take number but it is really not that much. As technnology gets better I am sure that will be even lower. Also once the video is streamed you are not really downloading anything else for that video.﻿

A video game I could understand how that can be a bit higher.

I think the cap is a great idea. It's the fact that they wont adjust it to the growning network. I have 5 people in my house. All on different computers 24/7. We all do netflix and play games plus a lot of downloading and uploading. Comcast counts upload also! I work online. So using bandwidth is an on going process and will not slow down, Only grow. Especially since many forms of entertainment,files,pictures are all being placed on servers across the world for downloading.

IMO - I think the cap should be (1) based on the speed tier you subscribe too. (2) Should not count upload since most CC users only have one channel for upstream bonding as even uploading a small file with kill your internet. (3) Be adjusted as the network grows. You can place caps on peoples internet without causing pain to the customer. Using 250Gb of data in a week should be regulated. However using 250GB in a month should not be. When the usage is spread out through the day and the month it shouldn't create a problem no matter how much I use.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

I agree a 3 year old cap based on files sizes, usage and transfer rates are just plain wrong. When I called and spoke to Comcat 3 months ago, I was told it was a simple 20$ upgrade to a business class line to have the cap removed. This was 100% incorrect. It will almost triple my costs to move to business class because it has to be separate from my residential accounts. This is BS, this is Comcast's choosing to bill me this way.

Comcast answer me this, why do you increase speeds but keep the same cap?

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Well the increased speeds do allow you to download files at a faster rate which is nice but still not right. However It should be per speed tier.

After reading more up on this and what not. This is what I came up with.

Since the internet works by sending data back and fourth between multiple companies,data centers..etc.. Most companies have an agreement with other companies that say we can send your network X amount and your network can send us X amount. If this cap were go over on a per company basis Comcast or whoever else would need to cough up some more money.

This is gives some insight in to the cap, however I seriously doubt raising the cap to 500Gb or higher would cause that. Accoding to Comcast only 1% of there internet users exceed that cap. So lets play with the numbers. What % of the original 1% would go so far over that it would cause Comcast to defect on there agreement with say Level 3?

I also believe that the cap is in place to protect there television industries. Since the internet is growing constantly we can get anything we want plus more online. Setting a cap would almost force people to use there TV to watch programs they could get on there computer.

The last thing I can say is if you can justify why you are using X amount of BW then it shouldn't be an issue.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

I agree the cap should be based on the tier of the service provided. I would be even willing to pay extra to have no cap, but not an excessive amount. Currently FIOS is the only provider left of the major ISP that do not have a cap in place. To be honest, I am pondering switching back to Verizon. Yes, their customer service is the worst I have ever experienced but I am willing to make that sacrifice to use my internet without limits.

If we exceed the cap, we get the possibility of losing our service, but if we dont exceed only Comcast benefits. We see no reduction in our bill or the ability to carry data usage to the next cycle. What we all want is fair usage of the service being provided.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

OMG...I did not know about this 250GB cap per month!!!! It's Oct 10 and am already at 236GB!!! Does anyone know what's the charge are for exceeding bandwidth limit? The sale guy didn't even mention this....they assumed that we know when we sign up!!! This is wrong!

Re: 250GB Cap questions

there is no extra charge but you maybe warned about your usage and if it continues they will cancel your service, but like it was said above if you are in a highly competitive area and it happens sometimes they won't bother you.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

[ Edited ]

Have had a 16mbps connection, halfway into my 4th month. Just checked my usage charts and I've exceeded the 250gb "cap" by ~100-200gb each month. I have had no phone calls, or even warning emails to my personal and comcast email accounts. This kinda makes me feel as if it's just an empty threat on their side... or maybe enforcement is different depending on which area you have service from?

Either way, I was not warned nor informed about this cap. I would've never known if I hadn't seen this thread. Don't get me wrong, I do support a cap, just not this cap, possibly 750gb?

Keep in mind that most I do is stream HD netflix/amazon prime, listen to pandora one HD radio, game, and browse. I also have two family members that are heavy internet users along with friends/family who frequent the place with their devices. I did happen to reformat my computer one month and redownloaded all (~65) of my Steam games again which is most likely why I went well over 450gb one month. This cap is ridiculous.... I can't even imagine bothering to upgrade to the Extreme50 plan now - seeing as I hear that has the exact same 250gb soft-cap.

P.S. Anyone know if uploading affects usage? I sync-backup all my drives which at the moment contain around ~950gb. I am also planning on scanning/backing up a lot of high-res older photos, etc. so I really don't want to be pushing 600gb+ usage next month if it makes me lose my service...

Re: 250GB Cap questions

I totally agree. I am streaming and backing up online as well. I hae a family of 7! Just think, Each person uses around 50 GB and 50*7=350GB! That doesn't even count the streaming of movies we regularly do. We also do some online gaming and watch Youtube. They really need to update their cap to probably 750 GB. In other countries they have faster speeds and higher data caps if any at all!

Re: 250GB Cap questions

AT the time the cap was set, 250GB was difficult to hit through legal channels. With the new speeds, the extreme HD content available everywhere, it is very easy to hit the cap.﻿

^^ Actually your quite right, I am a avid gamer & Netflix account holder, and yes 250GB a month is extremely easy to reach now legaly. Today is the 18th of the month, I currently stand at 192GB of bandwith already for this month. Even though top advertised speeds advertised here still stands at 8 mbts with no word of any upgrade coming here any time soon. I also use a security ip camera for security reasons that streams 24/7.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

[ Edited ]

Sorry, I meant with an online backup service. I know quite well transferring between HDDs doesn't require an internet connection... thank you for answering my question though. My backing up most likely contributes to my high monthly data usage.

P.S. @ 192GB usage 11 days into my cycle. Gonna be a big one this month.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Froogle wrote:

Have had a 16mbps connection, halfway into my 4th month. Just checked my usage charts and I've exceeded the 250gb "cap" by ~100-200gb each month. I have had no phone calls, or even warning emails to my personal and comcast email accounts. This kinda makes me feel as if it's just an empty threat on their side... or maybe enforcement is different depending on which area you have service from?

Either way, I was not warned nor informed about this cap. I would've never known if I hadn't seen this thread. Don't get me wrong, I do support a cap, just not this cap, possibly 750gb?

Comcast announced it publically when they instituted the cap back in 2008. It's probably mentioned somewhere in the customer agreement you get when you sign up for service.

As you noticed, going over the cap doesn't automatically cause a notice. You also have to be one of the heaviest users. And because of the increase in use of streaming services like Netflix, many more users are hitting the cap these days (it was only a fraction of a percent when they established it 3 years ago). So unless you're the worst of the worst, you'll be OK.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

The cap is normal and nothing new. All providers do it, whether they show it to you in your face or it's in the fine print, its there. This also includes cell phones, most are at 5GB a month.

These complaints have no basis. There are options available to remove the cap, of course it is more money, but you are asking for more services.

You have 3 options:

1) Monitor your usage and manage it appropriately

2) Pay the extra money for the business line which has no cap (currently)

3) Go to another provider who's cap is much smaller (FIOS and Uverse both are 150GB I believe)

So you are under the belief the customers have no right to request changes from the companies they pay money too?

The cap is not "nothing new", it is new. It is a new trend by ISP to sell "unlimited" internet but then have limits. And it is not appropriate because it is disingenuous. It also punishes people for using the product that they pay for.

To be honest I do much more then 250 GB without even trying, and I don't think people should be punished for actually using the product that they paid for.

What is going on here is that comcast is saving money by not investing into their infrastructure and selling more plans then it can currently sustain so they initiate download caps so that they can sell more product they actually have an infrastructure to sustain. It allows them to increase profits with very little investment, this is great for stockholders but bad for customers.﻿

Re: 250GB Cap questions

You also have to be one of the heaviest users.

I think this kind of thinking will stunt the future evolution of the internet. More advanced technology will require more bandwidth, so if we start capping it then creative people will have to limit their products/projects/websites/etc to lower bandwidth limits.

Customers should not be punished for using what they pay for. Comcast should not be allowed to maintain the monopoly it has if it can support the growing needs of the internet.

Re: 250GB Cap questions

Barmar wrote:

It's true that bandwidth only limits the amount that can flow at the same time. But most customers use the Internet around the same times of the day. Anyone who hits the cap is most likely using a significant amount of their bandwidth during peak times.

If Comcast wanted to optimize this, they could do something like have a bandwidth limit that only counted traffic during prime time. I remember when phone billing was like that; they would have different rates for different segments of the day and weekends. But in practice, customers don't like complications like this.

Or they can invest in the infrastucture and not sell more plans to customers if they can't support the load for all those customers to use the product they paid for. It seems odd how you are defending a corporation when they are not providing the product they sold.